Former Chelsea coach Eddie Newton says Romelu Lukaku wasn't ready to compete for the first team the first time around.

Lukaku, who returned to Stamford Bridge this summer for £98m, was one of many who was passed on as a young player.

But in this instance Newton feels the Belgian wasn't ready to establish himself as Chelsea's No 9 at that point in his career.

"For Lukaku, he wasn't ready at the time, and I don't care what anyone says," Newton told Goal.

"He just wasn't ready to be the main No 9 up front and carry that platform like Didier [Drogba]. He was always going to be compared to Didier and it wasn't fair to him at that time. It was different situations for different players."